A Blonde, a Redhead, and a Brunette
by GirlInTheMirror121
Summary: Mini-Glee Project! Hannah and Cameron are looking for a "Third Musketeer". When Damian, a new kid from Ireland, shows up at the park one day, will he be what they're looking for? Glee Project contestants in their elementary years. T for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Glee Project or know its contestants (damn). **

**Note: Mini-Glee Project per request of a fan (Damian, Cameron, and Hannah). Review if you'd like! This will be a multi-chapter story if you request it to be so. **

"Here you go, love," Damian's mum set him down in the park. "Why don't you try to make some new friends? Look, there's a nice boy over there," she pointed at a blonde boy with messy hair and glasses. "Go talk to him." Damian peered curiously up at his mother, who smiled encouragingly. "I'll be right over there," she gestured towards a bench over on the side. "Don't be afraid."

Damian nodded and walked over to the blonde boy, who was reading a book in the grass. He wore a blue t-shirt that brought out his eyes and jeans, and Damian immediately felt at ease; blue was his favorite color (well, at least this week it was). "Hullo," he said quietly.

The boy looked up. "Oh, hi!" He saved his place in his book. "Are you new to the neighborhood? 'Cause I've never seen you around here before."

"Yeah," Damian nodded shyly. "My mum and dad and brother and sister and I just moved here from Ireland."

"Your voice is funny," the boy crinkled his nose. "I'm sorry, that was rude. My name's Cameron. I'm eight years old."

"M'name's Damian. I'm five," Damian said with a slight lisp. "I like your shirt."

"Oh, thanks," Cameron looked down at it, as if he'd forgotten he was wearing it. "Yeah, blue's my favorite color."

"Mine, too," Damian's eyes lit up, and he showed off a missing-tooth smile.

"Really? Cool. It's also my best friend Hannah's color. She's playing on the swings, over there," Cameron pointed out a red-haired girl.

"Oh, you already have a best friend," Damian's face fell.

"I think people can have more than one best friend," Cameron offered. "And if you join our group, it could be like the Three Musketeers."

"Who're they?" Damian inquired. "I thought it was a candy."

"They're these three guys that go around and fight battles in the medieval times, and they're best friends," Cameron explained. "They stick up for each other no matter what."

"So…so you and Hannah need a third guy?" Damian asked.

"I like the way you say her name. It's so cool," Cameron smiled. "And yeah, we do."

"Can I please be the third guy?" Damian remembered to say 'please'.

"_May_ you," Cameron gently corrected him. "And yes, you may."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Damian clapped his hands excitedly.

"You're welcome," Cameron smiled warmly. "Hey, I'll introduce you to Hannah. She's seven years old, and we go to the same school. Hannah!" He called to her.

She came bounding over to them a few moments later. "Cam, what's up?"

"I think I've found our Third Musketeer," he grinned. "Hannah, meet Damian. He and his family just moved here all the way from Ireland."

"Ireland?" Her green eyes lit up. "Like…like four-leaf clovers and all that?"

"I've never actually found a four-leaf clover," Damian admitted.

"Honestly, Hannah, don't you know that all that stuff is a stereotype?" Cameron chastised her. "Leprechauns don't exist, right, Damian?"

"Right," he giggled.

"Guess what? Damian's favorite color is blue, too," Cameron told her.

"Awesome!" Hannah high-fived the small boy. Damian smiled and looked over at his mum, who gave him a thumbs-up in return, happy to see her son make two friends so quickly. "Are you really reading _this_ again?" she picked up the book Cameron had been reading. "He's read it like, three times," she rolled her eyes.

"I happen to like this book, it's my favorite," he snatched it away from her.

"What's it about?" Damian peered at the title, but not really being able to read yet, didn't know what it said.

"Have you never heard of _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_?" Cameron asked.

Damian shrugged. "I've heard of it, but I've never read it. I can't even read yet."

"It's about this girl who falls asleep and has a really crazy dream about a magical place called Wonderland. She meets a lot of funny creatures and people there. Of course, she wakes up in the end, but it's still a fun dream. I like the sequel, too, but it's a little more confusing than the first one. I like the pictures, too. It's also a Disney movie. Have you ever seen that before?"

"No," Damian quietly said. "But I kind of want to now."

"We can watch it together sometime," Hannah cut in. "Hey, are you going to the same school as us? Farbrook Elementary?"

"Hold on, I'll go ask my mum," Damian ran over to her. "Mummy, what school am I going to tomorrow?"

"Farbrook Elementary School," she told him.

"Cool, great!" He ran back to his new friends. "Yep, that's where I'm going!"

"Yay!" Hannah clapped gleefully. "Me and Cam, we've got your back, okay? If any of the big kids give you trouble, come and find us and we'll take care of 'em. Or we can get our big sisters to help or something. And you gotta stick up for us too, alright? It's a Three Musketeer thing."

"Okay," Damian said brightly. "I can do that!"

"Here," Cameron patted the ground next to him. "I'll read you some of _Alice_."

"I'd like that," Damian settled down, Hannah sitting across from Cameron so that Damian could look at the illustrations in the book.

"Chapter one," Cameron read. "Down the Rabbit-Hole. Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank and of having nothing to do…" Damian listened to the blonde boy read the funny and sometimes scary story with great curiosity and interest. It seemed as if no time at all had passed before his mum came to collect him.

"Come, love. We must be getting home now," she reached for his hand.

"Aw, mum, but we were just getting to chapter three!" He protested.

"We can read it another time," Cameron promised him. "Hi, I'm Cameron Mitchell. It's nice to meet you, Damian's mother."

"And I'm Hannah McIalwain," Hannah spoke up. "Cameron and I both go to Farbrook."

"It's nice to see that Damian made friends so quickly," his mum smiled at the kids.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow!" Cameron called as Damian walked away.

"Yeah, see you!" Hannah added.

"Bye, guys!" Damian chirped. "Mummy, did you see that? I made _two_ friends, and they're _older_," he said proudly.

"They seem very nice," she replied honestly. "I'm very proud of you, love."

"Come on," he dragged her towards the car.

"Slow down, sweetheart!" She laughed.

"But the sooner we get home, the sooner we eat supper. And the sooner we eat supper, the sooner I go to bed. And the sooner I go to bed, the sooner I wake up and get to go to school and see Hannah and Cameron again!" He insisted.

"Okay, love," she kissed his forehead. "I'm just so glad you're adjusting well to living here in America."

"And I'm so glad you took me to the park today," he grinned. "Now, come on! We've got to get home for supper!"

She smiled fondly at her son in his new car seat, humming to himself to a tune she couldn't identify. She admittedly was a bit worried about how he'd adjust to living in a brand-new place at such a young age, but now was relieved to see that he was doing just fine, and had even made a pair of nice, polite friends. She was a tiny bit concerned about them being older than her son, but was pleased at how genuine they'd seemed, and how her son lit up around them for the first time in many days. She hoped it would last.

**Continue? Yes/No?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with Cameron, Hannah, or Damian (sadly).**

**Note: I'm glad to see you're enjoying it thus far! Obviously, I'm continuing. **

"Are you nervous, love?" Damian's mum asked as she walked him into kindergarten the next afternoon.

"A little," he admitted. "But Hannah and Cameron said I can see them if I need help."

"That's good," she kissed his forehead. "You have a good first day now." She left the room, watching him through the window in the door as he shuffled over towards the teacher, an older woman with graying hair who seemed firm, but nice.

"Why, hello there," she said to him. "I'm Miss Jane. And what's your name?"

"Damian Joseph McGinty," Damian said seriously. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Aren't you precious," she smiled kindly at him. "Your cubby is the one with the blue raindrop on it, okay?"

Damian broke into a wide grin. "Blue is my favorite color!"

"Well, that works out just fine then, doesn't it?" She patted his head, sending him off. He bounded over to the mentioned cubby, putting his brand-new backpack inside. He looked towards the window in the door; his mother had gone, but Cameron and Hannah were waving to him. Smiling, Damian waved back. They had told him that their classrooms were next to each other and just down the hall from the kindergarten room, and he felt comforted by the fact that his two new friends and fellow Musketeers were close to him.

"Ah, do you know Cameron and Hannah?" Miss Jane asked, kneeling beside Damian and waving to the kids.

"Yeah, we met at the park yesterday. They're really nice," Damian told her.

"I had them both as students," the teacher said. "They're good kids. I'm sure they'll help you with anything you need. May I ask you where you're from?"

"My family just moved here from Derry City, Northern Ireland," he replied.

"How interesting," she said. "We do a Culture Day in March. Perhaps you or your siblings or parents could talk to the class about your country."

"I'm really shy," he whispered. "I dunno about that."

"Well, it's months away. Perhaps by then you'll be more comfortable," she smiled as she stood up and moved on to helping the next child. Damian sighed and looked towards the door again, but Hannah and Cameron had gone. He felt a little alone, so he wandered over to one of the rounded tables and sat in a chair next to a girl with dark hair. He hardly talked the rest of the day until he was released.

"Damian, hey!" Hannah waved to him as he waited in the hallway for his mum.

"Hi, Hannah!" His eyes lit up upon seeing her.

"How was your day?" She asked, adjusting her backpack.

"It was okay. My teacher seems nice, but I wish I were older so I could be with you or Cameron," he admitted.

"Aww," she nudged him gently. "So Cameron and I are going to his house to watch some movies, do you want to come?"

"I'll ask my mum," he wiggled excitedly, wanting to hang out with his new friends. He ran to her when he saw her come down the hall. "Mummy! May I go to Cameron's house and hang out with him and Hannah?"

"Well, I'm not sure," she looked questioningly at Hannah. "Will his mum be home?"

"Yes," she replied. "His mother works half-days, so she'll be around."

"And where does Cameron live?" She inquired.

"1212 Holly Lane," Hannah answered. "It's just a couple of blocks from here."

Damian's mum glanced at her son's face. He was practically bursting with impatience, and she could tell that he wanted to hang out with his new friends. "Very well," she said at last. "I'll come and pick him up at 6:00, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'll take good care of him, don't you worry!" Hannah waved as she said goodbye to her son. "Well, come on, then!" She grabbed Damian's hand and dragged him towards the door, where Cameron was waiting for them.

"Damian," Cameron smiled in greeting. "So you're coming along with us?"

"Yep," he said excitedly.

"Cool," Cameron hopped down from where he'd been sitting on the wall. "So how was your first day of kindergarten?"

"Okay," Damian said. "I like my teacher, but I had to sit next to this girl who wouldn't stop talking. And I didn't get the blue paints at art time."

"Well, we're going to have fun, aren't we, Hannah?" Cameron flashed a smile at the redhead, who nodded in return.

"What are we going to do?" Damian asked, curious.

"You'll see," Hannah winked mysteriously. They soon reached Cameron's home, a nice two-story building with blue shutters and flowerbeds all along the front. "Hey, Mrs. Mitchell," Hannah called to Cameron's mum.

"Hi, Hannah. And hello, Cam," she rushed to embrace her son. "Oh, and who might you be?" She squatted down to meet Damian.

"I'm Damian McGinty," he whispered. "'s nice to meet you."

"Cameron told me about you," she said kindly, and Damian's heart soared with happiness; his new friend had told his mum about him! "Make yourself at home, okay? If you guys need me, I'll be in the living room."

"Okay, Ma," Cameron waved her off. "Come on, let's go to the rec room."

"What's a rec room?" Damian asked.

"Oh, do you guys not have them in Ireland? It's short for recreation room, where people play games and watch TV and hang out and stuff," Cameron explained. Damian followed them to the basement and looked around in awe at the cool setup Cameron had down there. "Here it is," Cameron picked up a videocassette from the floor.

"Again?" Hannah groaned.

"Hey, we promised Damo we could watch it," Cameron reminded her, popping it into the VCR. Damian's heart soared again at the sound of his new nickname.

"Come on, sit next to me," Hannah patted the couch cushion next to her. Damian shyly did, climbing onto the couch and curling up. Cameron started the tape and went to sit down on the other side of Damian.

"I think you'll like this," he said, and fast-forwarded through the commercials.

"Oh, it's Alice in Wonderland," Damian smiled.

"You wanted to see it, right?" Cameron checked.

"Yes, I did," Damian nodded. "This is great!" He sat there in silence, spellbound by the movie, which Cameron claimed was his favorite. Hannah, although she had been forced to watch it countless times by the blonde, admitted that she enjoyed it too. A few times, at parts he thought were scary, Damian buried his face in Hannah's shoulder. She blushed a little, but put an arm around him comfortingly.

"It's okay to look now," she told him quietly.

"Thanks, Hannah," he whispered gratefully. Before he knew it, it was 6:00, and his mum was there to pick him up.

"So where in Ireland did you family move from, Joanne?" Cameron's mum was asking.

"Derry City," she replied. "Hello, love," she bent down to hug Damian. "Did you have fun with Hannah and Cameron?"

"Yes, mummy, I did," he grinned.

"We'd be glad to have him over whenever," Cameron's mum said. "I work from 7-1, so I'm around in the afternoons on school days."

"I'd love that," Damian blurted out.

"Hannah's over here frequently," Cameron's mum told him. "She's like a third daughter to me. She and Cameron have been inseparable ever since they met, and I have a good feeling that Damian will join their little group, too."

"I'm very glad that Damian's made new friends so quickly," his mum said. "And I look forward to chatting with you and Hannah's mother soon." She patted her son on the head affectionately. "Are you ready to go, love?"

"Yep," he smiled. "Thanks, Cameron's mum, for having me over," he said politely.

"Anytime, honey," she smiled back at him, and watched him leave with his own mother. She smiled a little to herself. At first, she'd wondered why Cameron had made friends with a boy three years younger than him, but admitted that Damian was very sweet and polite, and saw it as an opportunity for her son to be a mentor or big brother of sorts, being the youngest of her children. She briefly checked in on Cameron and Hannah, who were playing a video game of sorts, and then started on dinner.

"How was your time with your friends?" Damian's mum asked him in the car ride home.

"It was loads of fun," he told her. "Cameron and Hannah are awesome!"

"I'm happy to hear that, love," she murmured. Catching her son's reflection in her rear-view mirror, she smiled softly; it was the first time in months that she'd seen him truly happy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with anyone from The Glee Project.**

**Note: I'm guessing this will be ten chapters total. I'll just ask you now, dear readers, but do you mind if I delve into their middle school and/or high school years for the romance/drama factor? If you do, I will. If you don't, I shall resist and stick to childhood. Thanks again for reading, loves.**

**Note 2: In this, Hannah lives in Texas for a while before moving to North Carolina. In real life, she lived in Arizona in her childhood. Also, I'm not sure of what Cameron's parents' names are, although Damian's Wikipedia page has his parents' names. Did you know he's technically Damian McGinty, Jr.? **

"Happy Christmas, Cameron," Damian smiled as he handed over his present at the Mitchells' annual Holiday Party.

"Merry Christmas, Damian," Cameron accepted the present happily. "I wonder what it could be?" He shook the package, seeing if it made any noise.

"I wrapped it myself," Damian wriggled in excitement, unable to wait for his best friend to open his present any longer. "Well, go on! Open it, Cam!"

"Okay, okay," Cameron laughed. Teasingly, he peeled off the wrapping paper, bit by bit, watching the smaller boy squirm with impatience. Clearly, this had to be the best gift ever for Damian to be acting like this. Then again, Damian got excited over almost everything. "Let's see," Cameron peered under the paper. "Oh," he whispered as he saw what it was. "Damian…you didn't."

"I did," Damian giggled. "Don't you love it?"

"Yes," Cameron held it, a lump forming in his throat out of gratitude for his closest male friend. "I love it very much, Damian. But where on Earth did you find an autographed original Alice in Wonderland drawing from the book?"

"My grandmother," Damian grinned. "I told her how much you love that book, and she said she had this in her living-room. She'd meant to give it to me when I turned eight, but she figured you'd appreciate it just as much, if not more."

"This might be the best present I've ever gotten," Cameron said. He sighed and placed it next to him. "But I don't deserve it."

"Yes, you do," Damian put it back in his hands. "You're the best friend I've ever had," he said solemnly. "And you deserve the best present I've ever given."

"Thank you, Damian," Cameron wrapped his arms around the dark-haired boy.

"You're welcome, Cameron," Damian hugged him back.

"What about my gift?" Hannah joked as she joined them.

"Happy Christmas, Hannah!" Damian trilled.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," she smiled.

"Here you go," he handed a smaller package to her, also wrapped by himself (well, his mum helped him a little bit). "I really hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will," she laughed. She eagerly unwrapped it. "Oh, Damian, this is so pretty! Where did you get it?" She held up the necklace, admiring it.

"It's kind of a traditional Celtic symbol," Damian told her. "Lots of girls in Ireland wear it. It's supposed to bring you good fortune and to protect you."

"Thanks so much," she fumbled to get it on until Cameron lent her a hand. "You're such a sweetheart, Damian."

"Should we give Damian his present now?" Cameron shot Hannah a knowing look.

"Sure," she nodded. "Cameron and I pooled our allowances for this," she said as Cameron produced the gift from behind the couch.

"For me?" Damian asked incredulously. "But…you didn't have to!"

"We wanted to," Cameron ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Okay," Damian squirmed. "Can I open it now?"

"Of course!" Hannah laughed. "We want to see your reaction!"

Damian unwrapped it, trembling with excitement and happiness. "Oh my God," he yelled when he saw what it was. "Hot Wheels!"

"We knew how much you loved playing with mine," Cameron explained. "And we wanted to get you some of your own, since you never had them in Ireland."

"These are great!" Damian examined the six-pack of cars they'd gotten him. "Oh, and this one's metallic blue! Just like yours!"

"We're glad you like it," Hannah smiled gently.

"I don't like it," Damian shook his head. "I _love_ it!" He broke into a wide gap-toothed grin, hugging Hannah tightly. "You're the best friends I've ever had, the both of you."

"You're pretty cool yourself," Hannah squeezed him.  
>"I wish it would snow here," Cameron pouted.<p>

"You mean, it doesn't snow in Texas?" Damian's face fell.

"Nope," Cameron sighed. "We've never had a white Christmas."

"It snows in Ireland sometimes," Damian's lip quivered slightly. "It's really pretty. Cold, but really fun to play in. I wish you guys could see it. We could build a snowman, or maybe make snow angels or have a snowball fight."

"We will do those things someday, Damian," Cameron promised him. "We'll have a fun day in the snow, and then we can drink hot chocolate afterwards."

"You promise?" Damian perked up a little.

"Pinky swear," Cameron offered his little finger. Damian took it and shook it with his own baby finger.

"Yeah, Musketeer promise," Hannah added, linking pinkies with both of them.

"Agreed," the boys said in unison.

"Can we go to the fort now?" Damian asked, wanting to play and have fun.

"Sure," Cameron leapt off the couch.

"To the fort!" Hannah cheered.

"Shh," Damian shushed her. "It's a secret, remember?"

"Right, sorry," she blushed. "To the fort," she whispered.

"Here we go," Cameron pushed the couch away from the wall, grabbing the giant quilt and tossing it over the couch so that it draped over the back of it and over to the table that Hannah had dragged over, creating a little area for them to sit in seclusion.

"So, any Musketeer news?" Hannah asked.

"It's my first Christmas away from home," Damian said sadly. "I miss it, a lot. Not just the snow, but my family, like my grandmother and grandfather."

"Well, we're always here for you," Hannah patted his knee.

"That's right," Cameron affirmed. "And don't worry, Santa will still be able to find you here. He knows everything, even address changes." Cameron no longer believed in Santa Claus, but he knew Damian did, and wanted to keep the magic alive for him.

"I still think it's really nice that your parents invited us over for this party," Damian said.

"Oh, they do this every year for their friends," Hannah told him with a wave of her hand.

_Meanwhile_

"It's so sweet of you to invite us," Joanne McGinty said to Amy Mitchell.

"Well, Damian seems to have really bonded with Cameron, so I couldn't resist," she replied.

"We host this party for our friends every year," John Mitchell spoke up. "It's nothing, really. We thought you need a little extra cheer, being away from home for the first Christmas ever."

"That's quite considerate," Joanne said. "I'm just so glad that Damian has made such good friends with your son, and with Laura McIalwain's daughter."

"Yes," Damian McGinty, Sr., chimed in. "I was worried that Damian was going to have a hard time making friends, like he did back home. But he seems to be doing just fine now that Cameron and Hannah have taken him under their wing."

"Why do I have the feeling that either Cameron and Hannah or Damian and Hannah will end up dating someday?" Amy laughed.

"That would be lovely," Joanne smiled as she sipped her coffee. "Childhood sweethearts. Damian just adores the both of them. He never stops chattering about them!"

"Either way, they'll all grow up to be great people," John said. "You watch, they'll be very successful one day, the three of them."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't personally know Hannah, Cameron, or Damian.**

**Note: Again, dear readers, I'll update Hallelujah soon. I'm so stuck with chapter seven on that one, and I need another day or two to mull it over. Happy early Valentine's Day, readers! You voted 2:1 for them to grow up. And I'm the authoress, so my vote counts double, haha.**

**Note 2: Middle school is grades 6-8 in this story, and Cameron being the eldest of the three is starting his freshman year of high school. **

**Note 3: Chestnut High is a reference to my Dameron story "Falling Slowly".**

"I'm so nervous," Damian muttered as he approached the front steps of Parkside Middle School with Hannah at his side.

"Six grade isn't that hard," she waved her hand. "Eighth grade, now that's gonna be hard." She adjusted her backpack strap and smoothed her skirt.

"It's weird, knowing that Cameron won't be here with us," Damian said sadly.

"Yeah, but Chestnut High is only a few blocks away, and I'll be there next year," Hannah told him with a tinge of pride in her voice. "Besides, you survived last year without either of us, and now you have me to guide you."

"But the kids here are so much…bigger," Damian's eyes widened as he took in the group of middle schoolers who were hanging around the front of the building.

"Excuse me?" Hannah folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh," Damian blushed. "I…I didn't mean it like that, Hannah!"

"I know you didn't," she affectionately nudged him. "Okay, so if you need me, the eighth-grade classrooms are on the third floor. Got it?"

"I think so," he nodded. "Give me a push, would you?" She rolled her eyes and gently shoved him towards the main hallway, pointing out various rooms of importance along the way. "So the cafeteria is there, and the auditorium around the corner."

"And the sixth-grade classrooms?" He blinked up at her with his baby-blues.

"In the basement," she smiled mischievously. "See you around," she clapped him on the shoulder, spotting some of her girlfriends and running up to them excitedly.

"Bye, Hannah," he whispered as he watched her walk away. He understood that she wanted to talk to her girlfriends; she couldn't talk about everything with him and Cameron, after all. And he understood that they were worlds apart in the classification of this school; six-graders were the lowest of the totem pole, and eighth-graders ruled. He wished he could have Cameron around, but he was starting his freshman year over at the high school. Like him, Cameron was starting at a new school. Damian just wished he could've been at the _same_ school.

_Chestnut High School_

"Hey," Cameron nodded to one of his classmates as he found his locker. He knew he was the bottom of the heap; a lowly freshman amid a sea of much-older and cooler seniors.

Dozens of pretty girls passed him, eyeing him from head-to-toe, trying to guess if he was just the new kid in town or a freshman. Cameron gently averted his eyes. There was only one girl in his heart, besides his mother and sisters, and she wasn't there today, and wouldn't even be at the school for another full year. He opened his locker and put his books for the afternoon away before taping pictures of him, Damian, and Hannah on the inside of his door. His fingers and eyes lingered over a picture of a smiling Hannah, stopping over her mint-green eyes that sparkled and gleamed with laughter. He sighed, pressing it to his lips for a moment before hanging it up in the center of the door. He'd never admit it to anyone, except maybe Damian, but he'd had a crush on Hannah since the beginning of the summer. No, that was a lie. He'd always had feelings for her, deep down, but it wasn't until she'd blossomed just this past year that he realized how much he truly cared for her. He couldn't tell her, of course; how could he? It wasn't his reputation he was worried about. He wasn't ashamed of being seen with an eighth-grader, nor with a plus-sized girl. He was worried that she'd reject him, or that it would ruin their friendship, and he couldn't risk that. He'd rather be best friends and secretly in love with Hannah than not be friends with her at all.

_Three months later_

"Damian, hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Cameron pulled his second best friend aside at the mall.

"Yeah, sure," Damian gave Hannah an 'I'll-be-right-back" signal before following Cameron to another part of the store. "What's up, mate?"

"I don't know what to get Hannah for Christmas," Cameron nervously hopped from foot to foot. "I want to get her something really special, since we've been best friends for eight years now, but I have no idea what she'd like."

"Well," Damian said slowly. "She was talking about this…oh, what was it? Wake up, Damian…ah, right. There was this CD she wanted, this new folk group."

"I think I've heard of them," Cameron snapped his fingers. "Yes, okay, I know what you're talking about now. Thanks, Damo, you're the best!"

"You're, uh, you're welcome," Damian smiled awkwardly as he watched Cameron dash off towards the music store. He sighed and leaned against the rack of clothes, watching Cameron longingly as he jogged away. While all the other boys in his grade were talking about the girls they liked, Damian was secretly thinking of the _boy_ he liked. He understood that Cameron was friends with Hannah before he had come along, but he still felt a little sadness when he saw them laughing together and sharing private in-jokes.

"Where did Cam go?" Hannah asked, coming up behind him.

Damian jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. "The—the food court," he lied quickly. "He had some sort of crazy craving or another."

She laughed. "Well, why don't we make our way down there in a few minutes?"

"Sure," he murmured. "Sounds great." But inside, his heart was slowly sinking.

_Valentine's Day_

"To my Valentine, I long have admired you from a distance, and I just wanted to tell you that you are beautiful. Love, your secret admirer," Damian scrawled on the handmade card, hoping to disguise his handwriting. He grabbed the second card, writing "To my Valentine, I love you always, my best friend. Love, Damian".

"Damian, love, the bus will be here in two minutes!" His mum called up the stairs.

"Coming!" He yelled back, quickly stuffing the cards into their envelopes, one marked "Hannah" and the other labeled "Cameron", not paying much attention to which card was going in which envelope. He shoved both of them into his backpack and ran out the door.

He taped Hannah's card to her locker, knowing he most likely wouldn't see her for the rest of the day, and saved Cameron's for later, where he could slip it into his bag without him noticing.

"Hannah, what's wrong?" He asked as he saw her walking around in a daze later that day, a goofy smile on her face.

"I have a secret admirer," she giggled, showing him an awfully familiar red-and-white card. Damian glanced at it in horror.

_He had given the wrong card to the wrong person_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't know any of these three lovely people.**

**Note: Now that I'm done writing Falling Slowly (and will post the last two of those chapters this week), I'm going to focus on finishing this one off. It will hopefully be completed and posted by the end of next week, but I'm making no promises.**

"I wonder who my Secret Admirer could be," Hannah gushed to Damian. "It's been a week already, and I can't stop thinking about him!"

"About that," Damian cleared his throat. "Hannah, I have something to tell you…"

"Yeah?" Her mint-green eyes were bright and sparkling, and Damian instantly felt bad for what he was about to say to her.

"Promise me you won't get mad," he flinched a little, afraid she'd hurt him for some reason that he didn't know.

"I won't," she gave him a weird look. "What's up, buttercup?"

"I left the note on your locker," he mumbled. "By accident. See, I made a card for you and for Cameron. But I put them in the wrong envelopes, 'cause I was in a hurry. I'm so sorry, Hannah."

"Wait," she shook her head a little, red curls flying. "So…you like _Cameron_?"

Damian nodded miserably. "I feel so bad about the mix-up, Hannah."

"_Cameron_?" She asked again, still in disbelief.

"Please don't tell him," he begged. "I…I'm not ready to tell him yet, he's my best friend and I don't want him to be grossed out."

"Yeah, no, I won't tell him," she said, a little dazed. "I just…why Cameron, if you don't mind me asking that?"

"He's nice, and he's funny, and he has really pretty eyes," Damian tried to explain. "And he was my first real best friend…how could I not have feelings for him?"

"Oh," she said quietly. "This…this won't change things between us, right? Between you and me?"

"Of course not," Damian smiled. "We're still the best of friends, and that won't change at all, no matter if I have feelings for Cameron or not."

"Good," Hannah returned the smile. "I think you should tell him, though."

"Why?" Damian furrowed his brow.

"It's not good to hold things in," she shrugged. "Especially these feelings."

"Maybe I will," he nodded, agreeing with her. "Yeah, maybe soon."

"That's the spirit," she put an arm around his shoulders. "Oh, and thanks for having the courage to tell me the truth about the mix-up." She cast her eyes downwards. "Do you…do you think anyone will really like me like the way you like Cameron?"

"Yes," he grinned enthusiastically. "Hannah, you're a fantastic girl. You're so funny, and so sweet, and so pretty. Trust me, some guy will sweep you off your feet someday."

"You're the best," she bear-hugged him. "Oh, Cameron!" She waved him over. She nudged Damian, imploring him to say something.

"Hi, Cameron," he whispered.

"What were you guys talking about?" Cameron asked.

"Oh, just having a heart-to-heart," Hannah told him. "Nothing serious, though."

"Well, good," Cameron said. "Now, are we ready to go see this movie?"

"Of course," Damian nodded enthusiastically. "I've been waiting months for this!"

"You get excited over everything," Hannah ruffled his hair affectionately.

"But…it's _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_!" Damian bounced on his toes.

"Yeah, we know, nerd," Cameron teased gently.

"Cameron's buying the popcorn," Hannah proclaimed, "because he came last."

"Aw, not fair," Cameron fake-pouted.

"Musketeer rule," Damian pointed out.

"Fine, fine," Cameron huffed. "But I get the aisle seat," he grinned wickedly, racing his friends inside.

* * *

><p>"Hannah," Cameron smiled as he ran up to her. "Hey, hi, uh…"<p>

"Cam?" Hannah peered curiously at her. "Did you…did you actually brush your hair?"

"Yeah," he blushed a little.

"Well," she feigned surprise. "That's the first time in years. What's the occasion?"

"You know, your middle school graduation," he said, nervously running his fingers through his neatly-combed hair. "Oh, here," he held out a bunch of flowers for her.

"Cameron, thank you!" She sniffed them gratefully. "Ohh, they're lilacs, my favorite!"

"Yeah, I remembered you liked those," he shuffled from foot to foot.

"Um, what's up with you?" She looked at him strangely. "You seem really nervous for some reason or another. Oh, and the hair thing, that's weird."

"There's, uh, there's something I have to tell you," he said in a rush. "Why don't you…why don't you come over here so I can…um…tell you?"

"Sure," she excused herself from her parents for a moment and followed him into the hallway. "Okay, now spill, Mitchell. What's up?"

"Well," he paced nervously. "Well, let me start by saying you look really pretty tonight," he told her. "I like your hair straight like that, it's…it's very nice."

"Oh, it took an hour to do. I probably won't do it very often," she laughed. "Is that it?"

"No. I mean, yes…um, no, I…oh," Cameron babbled. "Hannah, we've been best friends for years, right?"

"Right," she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"And we tell each other everything, right?"

"Right," Hannah was even more confused. "Cameron, I don't understand-"

"I…now don't freak out, okay?" Hannah nodded. "I kind of have feelings for you outside of friendship," Cameron confessed.

Hannah gasped. "Cam…do you…do you really?"

"Yeah," Cameron laughed nervously. "I just didn't have the nerve to tell you until now."

"I never thought…but…since when?" She managed to get out.

"I guess since always," he shrugged. "Hannah…what's wrong?"

"I just never thought anyone could like me like that," she admitted. "And I suppose I never saw that you were right there in front of me."

"So…so does that mean you like me, too?" Cameron asked hopefully.

Hannah paused. She knew of Damian's feelings for Cameron. But here, here she could clearly see that Cameron did not return those feelings for him. And it was true, she did have a little crush on Damian, but she couldn't be with him, not when he liked boys. "Yes," she said finally. "Yes, I do."

He let out a sigh of relief, tucking her hair gently behind her ear and leaning down to kiss her for the first time. Damian, from where he was coming around the corner, felt his heart break in two as he saw his two best friends exchange their first kiss.

From that moment, he knew everything was going to be different.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't know any of the "threesome" (Damian's words, not mine).**

**Note: Working on this one so I can finish it off. Not that I'm not enjoying this, but I have loads more writing projects that I want to get started on, too. Also, this features a brief Lindsay cameo due to somewhat popular demand.**

"I don't want to go to school by myself," Damian complained. "Not now that Hannah's up at the high school with Cameron." _Her boyfriend_, he added silently.

"You'll get over it," his mum rolled her eyes a little. "And you'll see them after school and on weekends."

"But…"

"You'll be fine," she pushed him out the door and towards his bus stop. "Have a nice first day!"

"I will not," he muttered under his breath. "I will in fact have a terrible first day." Truth be told, he had been a little bitter ever since he saw Cameron and Hannah kissing at the beginning of the summer. Sure, he was happy for them—and why shouldn't he be? They were his best friends, and he supposed they were made for each other. But he couldn't deny that he had feelings for Cameron, and now he knew they could never be together. Nothing had really changed between him and his closest friends, except that occasionally they would have a sweet moment when he was around. They tried not to be overly a couple when he was around, though, not wanting him to feel left out or uncomfortable.

"Hey," one of Damian's classmates, Lindsay, waved him over as he headed towards his new locker. "How was your summer?"

"Okay, I guess," he shrugged.

"I heard that your two best friends—the ones you're always hanging around with?—I heard they're together now. Is that true?"

Damian sighed and avoided Lindsay's bright blue eyes. "Yes, it's true."

"That's nice," she smiled. "Yeah, they were always sweet on each other."

"As much as I'd love for you to talk my ear off about _your_ summer now," Damian brushed her off, "I'd rather not. I'll catch you around, Lindsay." He closed his locker and skulked off to his first class. Lindsay had always annoyed him to no end, what with her constant bragging and talking about things he could care less about. He had a suspicion she had a crush on him, but then again, she seemed to annoy everyone around her. He hoped that she'd leave him alone eventually, and that he wouldn't have to see her again after high school. Or, with any luck, he thought, she'll go to a different high school than me, or move away.

_Meanwhile_

"Don't worry," Cameron reassured Hannah. "I'll be your guide to Chestnut High. And look," he opened his locker door for her to see what he'd hung up there.

"Aww," she smiled as she saw the picture they'd taken over the summer at the beach together. She took in the small collage of pictures he'd made of them over the years; some with just the two of them together, some with Hannah and Damian, some of himself and Damian, and some individual shots of both of them. "Oh, I remember this one!" She pointed to a picture from Halloween when she was nine, Cameron was ten, and Damian was seven. "That was a good year, lots of candy."

"Yeah," he nodded, fondly remembering it. "Oops, warning bell. You'd better get to class. I'll meet you at lunch okay?" She nodded. "Have a good morning," he kissed her forehead before hurrying down the hall to his class.

"You, too," she waved as he left. She walked quickly in the opposite direction to her classroom; while she was happy to be in the same school as Cameron again—my _boyfriend_, she reminded herself, still not believing it was all true—she did miss Damian, and wondered how he was faring back in middle school.

_The summer after_

"I honestly can't believe you two have been dating for a year now," Damian said softly as he hung out with his best friends at their annual school's-out-bash.

"It's weird, yeah, that year went by really fast," Hannah laughed. "But hey, look at it this way. In just one more year, you'll be at high school with us!"

"Yeah," Cameron pointed out. "I mean, it'll be my last year, but we'll still be in the same school as each other for a little while."

"True," Damian murmured. He put his chin in his hands, sighing.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asked, concerned for the younger boy, who had seemed a bit distant this past year. Up until now, she'd connected it to that he had been feeling lonely at school without them, but now that they were together again, and he was still acting like this, she was worried. "You can talk to us about anything, you know."

"I know," Damian mumbled. "But not about this." He shot Hannah a pointed look, and she immediately knew what he was talking about.

"Cam, I'm just gonna go take a walk with Damian, okay?"

"Sure. I wanna finish this chapter," he took a book out of his bag. "Go ahead."

"Come on, sugarpie," she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, linking her arm through his and walking down the trail with him. "Now, tell me."

"I still like him," he craned his neck to catch a glance back at the blonde. "A lot. And…and as happy as I am for the two of you, I'm just…"

"Jealous?" She supplied.

"Yes," he admitted. "I'm sorry, Hannah. I love you, I do. You're one of my dearest friends, and I want you to have all the love and happiness in the world. You're practically my sister, and you know that. But…I cannot deny what I feel towards Cameron."

"Butterflies?" She asked. "Nervousness, like you're going to say something stupid? When you look at him, like you can see no one else? When you're alone with him, like you're the only two people in the world, and no one else exists?"

"Yes," he said. "All of the above and more."

She bit her lip. "Then you do love him," she said softly.

"I don't know how to tell him," he said. "Or even _if_ I should tell him."

"Well," she paused. "I can tell you first-hand that Cameron Mitchell is one-hundred percent straight. But you shouldn't keep things from him. He's your best friend, and he'll understand. Do what you feel is right, when you feel it's right. If you want to tell him right now, today, you should. But if you want to tell him next year, or the year after that, then you should. Look," she said, turning so she was standing in front of him, face-to-face. "Don't let me stand in your way, okay? Don't worry about my feelings getting hurt by this, because they're not. You can't help your feelings. It's not your fault."

"You're sure?" He questioned her.

"Yes," she said firmly. "I've got your back, baby Damo."

"You're the best," he hugged her. "Is he a good kisser?" He whispered in her ear.

"Definitely," she whispered back, giggling a little. "He most definitely is a good kisser."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't know Hannah, Cameron, or Damian.**

**Note: On a roll with this one! Hope you're enjoying this. Please, do review.**

"So glad you've joined us again," Hannah hugged Damian tightly upon arriving at his first day of high school. "We've really missed having you around."

"Missed you too," he mumbled. "Han? You're squashing me."

"Oh, sorry," she let go. "Don't you feel so cool? I mean, you have upperclassman friends. That was a huge thing for us when we were freshmen, having 'older' friends."

"It is rather nice," Damian smiled softly. "Gosh, this school is big."

"That's what I said my first day," she sighed wistfully. "But hey, you have me and Cam to rely on, and you can just find us and ask us the big burning questions you'll have."

"I just…" Damian shook his head. "How have you two been dating for _two years_?"

"Luck, I guess," she shrugged. "I mean, I doubt we'll get married or anything like that. We're still young, and even if we don't wind up together in the end, it'll still have been a very nice first relationship, for both of us."

"I feel so…strange," Damian confessed. "Like…what if I never get over him?"

"What if you do?" She shot right back. "What if the perfect…um…person for you is right around the corner and you don't know it because you're so hung up on Cameron?"

"I am _not_ hung up on Cameron," Damian huffed. "I just…"

"…are in love with him," Hannah finished. "And, honey, you've got to _move on_. Not just because he's taken—it has nothing to do with that—but because you need to find someone who will love you back!"

"Jesus, Hannah," Damian swore softly. "I never thought you'd tell me to move on."

"Damian, I didn't…oh, come on, you know what I meant," she pleaded.

"Wow, just wow," he pushed past her, stomping down the hall, not knowing where he was going but not entirely caring.

"Damian, wait," she implored, but he was already gone. "Ugh!" She threw her backpack against her locker.

"What's wrong, darling?" Cameron asked, coming up behind her and playing with her hair gently. "Was that Damian that just stormed off?"

"Yes. I gave him a dose of reality, and he got pissed for no reason," she grumbled. "I don't know who he thinks he is!"

"I'll go talk to him. Don't you worry; he never stays angry for long," he assured her, brushing his fingers against the back of her neck, causing her to shiver slightly. Thanking his lucky stars that he was blessed with long legs, he was able to catch up to Damian within no time, tracking him down by the library. He knew that if there was anywhere in this school that Damian would go to if he was angry, it would be the library. Bookstores and libraries seemed to calm him down, and sure enough, he was brooding within the stacks of biographies. "Damo, what's up?" Cameron leaned against one of the shelves.

"Hannah was trying to dictate to me how to live my life," Damian scowled. "What does she know about my feelings and love life, or lack thereof? _She_ has a loving boyfriend. _She_ didn't have conflicting feelings for anyone. _She_ didn't have to work towards anything. _She_ had you all along, didn't she? God…"

"Look, I'm sure she wasn't trying to tell you what you should or shouldn't do," Cameron ran a hand through his hair. "She was probably just looking out for you. And so what if she slapped you across the face with reality? That's part of growing up, Damian. That's what friends do for each other, you know. If she didn't do that, she wouldn't care."

"You don't think," Damian's voice broke, "that it doesn't kill me to see you two together? You don't think I don't get uncomfortable, or feel left out, or get…insanely jealous…of you both? You don't think I haven't felt like things have been the same since you two got together two freaking years ago?"

"Is _that_ what this is about?" Cameron asked, exasperated. "Me and Hannah? Jeez, why didn't you tell us about this before?"

"Oh, I did," Damian sneered. "I told Hannah. But you wouldn't listen. You didn't want to listen. All you could see was Hannah, and I was invisible."

"Do you _like_ Hannah?" Cameron lowered his voice. "Is that why this hurts you so much? Because you like her, too?"

"No," Damian closed his eyes. "I don't wish to talk about this anymore," he stepped around the blonde. "Goodbye."

Cameron shook his head and sent Hannah a text message.

**Cameron: Well, now he's mad at me, too.**

**Hannah: Oh, Cam…**

**Cameron: Why is he so hurt by our relationship?**

Hannah could've just told him the truth, right then and there: that Damian was irrevocably in love with him. But she didn't; it wasn't her place to do so.

**Hannah: No idea, but he'll come around soon. Hakuna Matata.**

**Cameron: No worries indeed, sweetheart.**

_April _

"I'm so glad," Cameron said as he readied himself for Prom.

"Yeah," Damian murmured, helping Cameron straighten his bowtie. "I mean…yeah, yeah you'll have a great time, I'm sure."

"Hey, you've got a few more years before it's your turn," Cameron said. "But maybe some girl will ask you next year, eh?" He winked and nudged his best friend.

"Maybe," Damian replied softly. He heard a car approach, and peered out Cameron's window. "Oh, Hannah's here…"

"I'm so nervous…what if she doesn't like the corsage I got her?" Cameron fretted.

"They're lilac, her favorite," he reassured him. "She'll love it…the ribbon…it matches her eyes…yeah, she'll love it."

Cameron nodded, and grabbed the box from where it lay on his dresser. He took one last look in the mirror before hurrying out the door and towards the stairs. Damian sighed; Cameron had looked so handsome in his tux, and he mightily wished he could've been in Hannah's place that night, that it was he who Cameron was taking to Prom. He wearily dragged himself to go and greet Hannah. She looked stunning in a light green dress that accented her eyes, her hair lightly waved and flowing around her shoulders.

"Wow," he smiled. "You look fantastic."

"Thanks," she smiled back.

"The most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Cameron slipped the corsage around her wrist.

Hannah blushed. "Oh, you…"

"I…I have something to tell the both of you," Damian said quietly, slowly coming down the stairs. "But I…I don't want to ruin your night."

"Okay…" Hannah gave him a funny look. "Tomorrow then, alright?"

"Yeah…yeah, tomorrow," Damian swallowed hard.

"We'll tell you all about Prom, and you can tell us what you have to say," Cameron told him. "Usual meeting spot?" Damian nodded. "We'll meet you there around three, okay?"

"Okay," Damian said timidly. "Have fun, you guys." He looked away as they headed out to Cameron's car, Cameron's arm around Hannah.

How was he going to be able to tell them this?

_The next day_

"Come on, spill," Hannah laughed to break the tension. "What's going on?"

"I…I don't know how to say this," Damian plucked a dandelion, twisting the stem and playing with it for a few moments.

"You didn't get anyone pregnant, did you?" Cameron groaned.

"No," Damian tried to crack a smile.

"Are you gay?" Cameron tried again.

"Um, no," Damian avoided his gaze, feeling the heat of Hannah's knowing stare. "I just…okay, I'm just gonna say it." He blinked back a tear. "I'm going back to Ireland…to stay."

"What?" Cameron stood up. "You're going _back_?"

"Damian, no," Hannah's face twisted, tears coming to her eyes. "No…"

"There's this…fantastic opportunity for me over there," Damian explained. "You guys told me I should be doing something I love, and I love singing. So I auditioned for this new music group, and, well, I got in."

"That's great," Cameron cleared his throat. "That's, um, that's wonderful, actually. Congratulations," he awkwardly hugged the brunette.

"So do you like, have a contract or something?" Hannah asked, unsure.

"Yeah," Damian laughed. "I have a recording contract, and we might go on tour soon. They cast me as the 'Boy Wonder', actually, and we start in the studio next month. My mum's been real homesick lately, and her mum—my grandmum—isn't doing too well, so she's going back with me. My dad will come along when he can find a new job overseas. I…I'm gonna miss you guys."

"We're gonna miss you too," Cameron said. "Right, Hannah?"

"Right," she brushed tears away from her face. "But…will we ever see you again?"

"On tour," Damian winked. "And I'll give you guys free copies of my CD. Maybe you can even come backstage to the tour or something. I'll keep in touch, I promise."

"We will, too," Hannah leaned over and hugged him. "And we wish you the best of luck. No matter where life takes you, or Cameron after he graduates, or me next year after I graduate, we'll always be with each other."

"Yeah," Cameron cleared his throat again, not wanting to cry. "I'll be able to tell everyone at college 'that's my best friend, in that Irish group'. It'll be awesome."

_Now's my chance_, Damian thought. _It's my chance to tell Cameron how I really feel about him. Who knows when I'm going to see him again? Come on, Damo. Just say it. 'I love you, Cameron.' Just say it. Three little words. It's not that hard…come on…_

"I love you guys," Damian couldn't hold back the tears any longer. "You're the best friends I've ever had." _Well, close enough_.

"I don't know," Hannah smiled mysteriously. "I have a feeling we'll meet up again in the future, somewhere totally unexpected."

"Maybe," Cameron and Damian said in unison, laughing at their jinx. "Maybe!"

**To be continued…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't know any of the Trio.**

**Note: I know, I know, how could I break up the trio? Well, I had to have some sort of major conflict and keep it somewhat true to life. Besides, I love Damian from his Celtic Thunder years; charisma is that boy's real middle name. Enjoy!**

_Hannah and Cameron_

"I can't believe you're going to college," Hannah murmured as Cameron wrapped his arms around her securely.

"I'm still in Dallas," he reminded her. "And we'll get to see each other on weekends."

"But it isn't the same," she stepped back, shaking her head. "Not with you in college and Damian back in Ireland."

"No, it's not," he admitted. "But hey, we can still keep in touch with him, right? And I think one of his shows is gonna be televised on PBS. We can make popcorn and watch him. I'm sure he'll be great."

"I have no doubts he will be," Hannah said. "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm going to miss him terribly. He's only been gone for three days, and I _already_ miss him."

"He's happy," Cameron said. "And that's what matters."

"No," Hannah bit her lip. "He wasn't happy, Cam."

"What do you mean?" He furrowed his brows.

"There was something really bothering him…something big…and…and, well, I was the only one that knew because he was too afraid to tell you." She bit her lip again, chewing on it a little. "And it's not my place to tell you now. I just wish he had before he'd gone."

"Is he okay? I mean…emotionally?" Cameron asked, now concerned.

"I'm not sure," Hannah said honestly. "Maybe he'll tell you someday, when he's ready."

"I'll write him," Cameron declared. "And let him know that it's okay."

_Damian_

"Welcome to Celtic Thunder," Keith smiled warmly. "I'm Keith. This is George, Ryan, and Paul. You must be Damian. Nice to meet you."

"You, too," Damian shook his hand. "I'm really excited to be here."

"We saw your audition video," Ryan said. "You're really quite talented. It's not every day you meet a male soprano."

"That might change after I hit puberty," Damian joked, and the other men laughed.

"I think you'll fit in just fine in this group," George said. "Now, we should probably rehearse the group numbers that we'll be recording. You can practice solos on your own or with the vocal coach."

"Let's do it," Damian rubbed his hands together, eager to start. He loved singing, and now he was getting paid to sing? While he did miss Hannah and Cameron, he was delighted to be able to make a new start.

_Cameron_

Cam was attending a public university in Dallas, and he was thrilled to begin his music studies there. "Hey cutie," a pretty blonde tried to flirt with him.

"I have a girlfriend, sorry," Cameron smiled apologetically. The girl pouted and walked away, spotting another boy that apparently caught her interest. Cameron couldn't believe that he and Hannah had been dating for three years; it seemed surreal to him. He settled into his first class and took out a fresh notebook and new pen. There was something about new school supplies that always had excited him, and this was no exception. He'd written a letter to Damian, and was anxious for the response. He wondered what could've been troubling Damian so much that he couldn't even tell him, and why he felt as if he could trust Hannah more than he could trust him.

How bad could it be, really?

_Hannah_

"Senior year, huh?" One of her friends, Stacy, asked as they walked down the halls.

"Yeah, pretty crazy," Hannah said, her heart not totally in it.

"And you, girl, have a college boyfriend," Stacy waggled her eyebrows.

"Mmhmm," Hannah smiled politely. "Cam's great, but I'm going to miss him a lot."

"He's only what, an hour away?" Stacy asked. Hannah nodded. "Well then, you can see him and weekends and stuff."

"But it's not the same," Hannah sighed. "Now that Damian's gone, too…"

"Who? Oh, the Irish kid, yes," Stacy said. "Well, you got me, girl!"

"True," Hannah said. "But that doesn't change the fact that I'll still miss them…"

_One year and a half later_

"This is so exciting," Hannah squealed, grabbing Cameron's hand as they were on a cross-Atlantic plane. "And to think, he has no idea!"

"This is going to be the best Christmas present he's ever gotten," Cameron grinned.

"Run by the plan again," Hannah wriggled in her seat.

"Okay," Cameron took out a piece of paper. "So his mom is going to meet us at the airport and take us to the hotel. Then tomorrow, we're going to his show. She can get us backstage. We'll head to his dressing room and surprise him there. We have house seats, too. Joanne said it was no big deal, and she's excited to see us again. She said Damian's been missing us lately."

"Thank goodness for college winter breaks, right?" Hannah laughed. "We get a whole nice month off from school, with absolutely no homework, and we get to go to Ireland. Ireland!"

"And England, and Scotland," Cameron reminded her.

"Ooh, I wonder if it'll snow!" Hannah peered out her window, but only saw the Atlantic.

"I've missed you so much, darling," Cameron told her. "I hate that you go to school in North Carolina. It seems so far away."

"Yes, but we'll all be together now," she smiled. "At least for a little while."

"Indeed," he clutched her hand. "And nothing could make for a more perfect Christmas."

_The next night_

"Damian, you have some visitors," his mum stuck her head in the door of his dressing room. He sighed. He'd been missing his friends back home and was feeling a little blue this Christmas. He loved performing with Celtic Thunder, but sometimes he just wanted to sit around and laugh with Cameron and Hannah again, like they used to.

"Very well," he mumbled. He glanced in his mirror and nearly screamed. "Hannah! Cameron!" He stood up quickly, nearly knocking his stool over. "What are you two doing here?" His mouth hung open in shock. His mum, laughing knowingly, snapped a photo.

"We wanted to surprise you for Christmas!" Hannah exclaimed. She rushed forward to hug him tightly, crying softly at the much-awaited reunion. "Ohh, let me look at you! You haven't gotten much taller, I see. But your voice has changed!"

"You're just as I remembered," he murmured. "God, I've missed you, Han."

"Oh, come over here," Cameron rolled his eyes, holding out his arms for Damian to step into it. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy; he fit just as he always had.

"I'm sorry that I haven't written you much," Damian apologized.

"We watched all your performances on PBS," Hannah told him. "You're _amazing_, Damian. It was like watching you grow up, physically and vocally."

"What one was your favorite?" Damian grinned, not believing this.

"Act II," Cameron said immediately. "I love 'A Bird Without Wings'. It reminds me so much of you, and it's so beautiful."

"Oh, I like Take Me Home," Hannah replied. "I really like 'Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen'. I wish you had done that years ago so you could sing it to me."

"You'll _love_ the next album we produce," Damian said excitedly. "We're doing covers of pop and rock songs. I get to sing some Michael Bublé, and it's gonna be fantastic. Oh, and we're doing a Christmas album at some point as well."

"Damian, what's all the commotion?" Keith stuck his head in the room.

"OhmyGod, it's Keith," Hannah squealed. "He's my favorite!" Damian glared at her. "Besides you, of course," she covered quickly.

"Oh, are these your friends that you're always going on about? Cameron and, uh, Hannah, right? Nice to meet you. Damian's mentioned you oh, three or four hundred times." He went over and shook their hands.

"This is so cool!" Hannah cried.

"I'll admit, this is pretty rockin'," Cameron grinned.

"And I'm sorry to break up this little reunion," Keith said. "But we're at twenty-minute call here, Damian."

"Oh, we'll be on our way to our seats, then," Cameron said. "It was really nice to meet you, Keith."

"Yeah," Hannah giggled and blushed. "We'll see you later, baby Damo!"

Keith snickered at the old pet name, and Damian snorted. "I think this'll be my best show yet, because you two are in the audience tonight!" All throughout the performance, he pointed at his friends and smiled, singing his best and dancing as well as he could for someone who claimed to have two left feet.

"He's incredible," Hannah leaned over and whispered to Cameron at one point. "I can't believe it. He's all grown up now, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Cameron swallowed, blinking back tears of pride. "He really is."

_A few days later_

"It's snowing!" Hannah jumped on Cameron's bed. "Cam, it's snowing!"

"Yeah, it is," Cameron rubbed his eyes, fumbling for his glasses. "I noticed it when I went to the bathroom a couple hours ago."

"I want to go play in it," Hannah grabbed her coat.

"Hannah, it's eight in the morning," Cameron buried his head under the pillow.

"We might only get to see snow once in our lives!" She whapped him with her own pillow. "Come on, let's go get Damian and play in the snow!"

"Fine," Cameron groaned, rolling over. "Only for you, darling, only for you."

"Damian!" Hannah knocked on the door that connected their rooms together.

"What?" He complained, not happy to be awoken.

"You promised us nearly ten years ago that you'd play with us in the snow one day. And it is snowing outside this very moment. I'm holding you to that promise, my dear."

"Fine, fine," he mumbled. "I can't believe you remember that bloody promise…"

"Yay," she skipped back to her closet, dressing for the day. "Come on, boys!"

"It's so…wet," was Cameron's first reaction to the snow.

"That's what he said," Damian cracked. Cameron swatted him playfully.

"Snowball fight!" Hannah picked up a handful of snow and awkwardly rolled it into a ball, chucking it at Damian.

"No fair!" He laughed, making a quick snowball and throwing it back at her. Hours later, they were snuggled up with each other in Cameron's hotel bed, sipping hot chocolate and catching up on the last year or so. All was well.

_Six months later_

_Cameron_

"Huh," Cameron said, scrolling through his Facebook feed. "This sounds interesting. Win a seven-episode guest-starring role on _Glee_. Submit an audition video to MySpace and you could be a finalist. Huh…"

_Hannah_

"Hey, Hannah," her sister pointed out an ad on TV as they were watching an America's Next Top Model marathon on Oxygen. "You'd be perfect for that."

"The Glee Project," Hannah read. "Hmmm…"

_Damian_

"Damian, check out this advertisement I saw online," George handed him a piece of paper he had printed out. "What do you think? I know you like _Glee_."

"Sounds cool, I guess," he read it carefully, considering it. "Maybe I'll audition..."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: You know the drill by now.**

**Note: Well, time to start wrapping up this saga by finally delving into The Glee Project months. Enjoy!**

**Note 2: For a (much) more detailed, and slightly reversed, version of The Glee Project, check out "The Dameron Chronicles".  
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"I can't believe I made it," Damian said excitedly as he was boarding a flight from Dublin to Los Angeles. "I can't believe I'm going to _L.A._ to be on a television show! If only Cameron and Hannah knew…I haven't heard from them in a few months…" He sighed and opened a book, trying to pass the time on the long, long flight. Before he knew it, he was arriving in California. He boarded a van to the loft where the contestants would be staying. He wasn't sure who else would be in this top twelve group, but he hoped it was some of the nice people he'd met while at the main audition in Dallas. He dragged his suitcase up the stairs and opened the door to the loft.

"Damian?" A familiar voice asked. "Oh my God!" A blur of red hair flew towards him and engulfed him in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"H…Hannah?" Damian asked incredulously. "What…you're…?"

"Yes!" She squeezed him tightly. "I wanted to tell you, but wasn't sure if I was allowed!"

"So that's why I haven't heard from you," Damian joked.

"Sorry," she smiled apologetically, letting him go.

"It's so nice to see you," Damian brushed her hair back.

"You, too," she blushed a little. _Since when had Damian become so…cute?_ "Everyone, this is Damian. We've been best friends since we were little."

"Lindsay?" Damian blinked. "Lindsay _Pearce_?"

"Damian?" She did a double take. "Whoa!"

"What…okay, okay," Damian shook his head. "I know I'm jet-lagged, but I'm seeing things now. No, this is _not _happening…"

"Great to see you, too," Lindsay snarked.

"I haven't seen you since eighth grade," Damian tried to explain. "And for you to show up here, of all places…wow."

"Oh my God," Damian heard Hannah mutter. "Oh my GOD."

"What is it?" He spun around. "Oh Jesus…"

"Not Jesus. Cameron," the blonde laughed.

"Cameron!" Damian ran and tackled the man, nearly knocking him over.

"I, uh, take it you know each other?" One of the other contestants, a pixie girl, asked.

"We're best friends!" Damian yelled.

"And you're breaking my spine; please let go," Cameron teased.

"I'm just…I can't believe…and you and Hannah…" Damian babbled.

"Is he always this articulate?" A fellow redheaded girl asked Hannah.

"Pretty much, yeah," she grinned. "Though it is pretty amazing. What are the odds that we'd all end up in the top twelve of the same reality show?"

"Pretty crazy," Damian laughed. "Pretty bloody crazy."

_Later_

"Let me get this straight," Matheus said slowly. "You two," he pointed at Hannah and Cameron. "Have been dating for years and you," he pointed at Damian, "know _both _of them, _and_ Lindsay?"

"I know it sounds insane," Damian laughed. "But yes, it's all true."

"Wow," he blinked rapidly at the Irish boy. "Some coincidence."

"I keep thinking I'm going to wake up at any moment," Hannah said, as Cameron reached over to hold her hand.

"If it is a dream, it's one of the best I've ever had," he told her.

Damian shifted in his seat uncomfortably, not believing that Cameron and Hannah had been together for so long. He was terrified that they'd end up married one day and he'd never get to tell Cameron how he'd felt about him for all these years. He sighed heavily. _If I win this thing_, he thought to himself, _I _will_ tell Cameron how I feel about him._ Not even a week later, he found himself in the bottom three group of competitors. _Well, that was rather ironic._

"I can't…why Damian?" Cameron tried to explain his frustration. "He's an incredible singer, and I should know."

"Maybe there was something off about his performance this week," Marissa shrugged.

"If I know Damian, he'll be fine," Hannah reassured him.

"I don't want Damian to go home, I love him," Cameron mumbled. Hannah shot him a strange look. _Maybe_, she thought, _he's finally catching on here…_

Luckily for them, Damian was spared that week, and they were all safe the week after that. But week three hit all of them harder than they thought it would.

"Oh no," Damian's eyes widened as he saw the word "Vulnerability" written in giant letters on their chalkboard. "No, no, no…"

"You doin' okay, Damo?" Hannah asked. "You're whiter than you usually are."

"Oh ha ha," he made a face at her. "I just don't like the sound of this week." He dropped his voice to a low whisper. "You know what I'm vulnerable about…"

"You have my shoulder to cry on if you need it," she whispered back. Damian sighed. He found it ironic that the line he'd be singing in their homework challenge that week was "but my heart is broken". His heart _was_ broken, and the heartbreaker in question was in the room, although he did not know it. He froze in terror when he found out the next day that they'd all be sent out to a crowded tourist place in the city with boards that said the word they were "vulnerable" about on them. _What word could I possibly put_? Damian worried. _If I put 'gay', people might think I'm copying Alex, and Cameron would…no, I can't do that. 'Questioning', I could do that, or maybe 'Love'. Maybe…hmm…_

He ended up going with 'Numb' and fudged an explanation of a sob story of how he gave up 'the girl he loved' for his career. Hannah looked at him wearily; she knew it wasn't true, and Cameron seemed to be on Planet Cameron again, so he was able to get away with it for the time being. He knew from the start that Hannah's word was going to be 'Fat'; she had always struggled with her weight. But he was a bit surprised when Cameron ended up going with 'Misunderstood'. He didn't ask, though, and it didn't surprise him when he ended up in the bottom three again. Emily was there with him—which he was shocked to see, as he thought he had done a great job that week—and much to his dismay, Cameron.

"Oh God," Hannah muttered. "They're both in the bottom, and Em…"

"Ouch," Matheus flinched. "Your boyfriend or your best friend, huh."

"So what was up with Damian's vulnerable word?" Alex asked. "I didn't buy it."

"I have no idea," Hannah sighed. "Damian tells me everything, and I know for a fact that that boy has _never_ had a girlfriend."

"Yeah, 'cause he's on the gay train too," Alex grinned wickedly, and Lindsay jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Alex! Be nice," she chastised. "You've just met Damian; don't jump to conclusions."

"Actually…" Hannah shifted her eyes in the other direction.

"Ha! I knew it," Alex laughed. "Let me guess, let me guess, I've totally seen this story before. He has the hots for Cameron, doesn't he? And you have him, so he's moody because he wants to tap that ass, too."

"Pretty much, yeah," Hannah said after a moment's awkward silence.

"Does Cameron know?" Marissa asked quietly.

"No," Hannah said. "Damian never did get around to telling him. "Which means some people," she glared at Alex and Lindsay, "better keep this between us."

"We-" Alex started to say, but was interrupted by Cameron coming back into the room. Hannah gave him a stern Look, reminding him to keep quiet. "Oh, hey Cameron."

"I'm pretty sure I'm going home this week," he shook his head. "The judges didn't seem to like me very much."

"That's not true," Hannah ruffled his hair. "That being said…I don't want Damian to go home, either. Not baby Damo."

"Baby Damo?" Samuel sniggered. "Oh, that's a good one."

"He has a baby face, and he was five when we met him," Hannah explained. "So he's always been the baby of our little group."

"Aww," McKynleigh cooed. "You guys are like siblings, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Cameron smiled softly. "Damian's like my little brother."

Again, blessfully, both were deemed 'called back' for that week. The next week and a half went by quickly, and Damian was thrilled that he wasn't in the bottom during the week that focused on dancing. He felt a flutter in his stomach when he saw that the next week was about working in pairs, and was happy when he got matched up with Hannah for their homework challenge.

"Nice to be singing with you for the first time ever," she smiled.

"I can't believe we've never sung together before," he said. "This should be fun."

"Cameron keeps looking at me," she lowered her voice.

"Perhaps he's jealous of me," Damian said back. "Because I'm working with you and not him. Or maybe he…oh, I don't know."

"Are you okay, honey? You've been strange ever since we got here. Does this have anything to do with…" she cocked her head in Cameron's direction.

Damian shrugged. "Maybe."

"Damian," Hannah shook her head and sighed heavily. "Why don't you just _tell_ him how you feel before you go slightly insane?"

"Only slightly insane?" Damian waggled his brows.

"Oh, you," she swatted at him playfully. "Let's rehearse this number, okay?"

While they did not win the homework challenge, Damian did hope he'd get paired with either of his best friends for the regular challenge. He was paired with Matheus instead. Cameron and Hannah weren't even paired together; he supposed that the judges thought it would be too easy that way. They did all end up in the bottom six, though, and Cameron in the bottom three.

"I'm gonna tell him," Damian muttered to Hannah out of the corner of his mouth. "If I win this thing in the end, I'm gonna tell him."

"And if you don't?"

"Then I'll tell him anyway," Damian stared into her eyes. She blinked in understanding. The time was finally right.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I think you know this by now.**

**Note: Final chapter! Nothing more after this, sorry. Anyhow, thanks for sticking with this story and adding it to Alert/Favorite, if you did. **

"I can't believe Lindsay kissed you," Damian crinkled his nose.

"Well, it was directed," Cameron pointed out. "I mean, it's just acting, right?"

"True," Damian said slowly. "But still, did she _have_ to?"

"Why are _you_ getting so worked up about this?" Cameron asked.

"Because…well…I'm…I'm concerned for Hannah," Damian lied.

"…again, it was just acting, and she saw me do it, so it's not like I was fooling around behind her back or anything. Honestly, Damo, you've been really weird ever since you got here. Now, seriously, what's up with you lately?"

"I just…you know…get worried about you and Hannah sometimes," Damian lied quickly again. "I'm planning on being your best man at the wedding…don't want things to go wrong between now and then..."

"Who said you were going to be the best man?" Cameron deadpanned. "Kidding, of course you would be, if Hannah and I ever _do_ get married."

"What? Of course you are," Damian found a sudden fascination with his jeans. "I mean, you've been meant for each other ever since you met."

"True," Cameron lay back. "What do you think? If I win this, should I propose?"

Damian felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. "Yeah," he mumbled.

"Seriously?" Cameron raised his blonde brows. "You think so?"

"Sure," Damian picked at a loose thread on the sheets. "Why not?"

Cameron rolled over and climbed over so that he was practically on top of Damian. "Damian Joseph McGinty," he said in a low voice. "I want you to tell me what's going on in that little head of yours, and I want you to tell me right now."

"Or what?" Damian narrowed his eyes in a challenge.

"I'll tickle you," Cameron threatened.

"You wouldn't dare," Damian gritted his teeth.

"Oh, I would," Cameron moved his hands to Damian's side, where he knew the boy was the most ticklish. "Tell me, or I tickle."

"So, Cameron," Alex walked into the room. "Oh," his hand flew to his mouth upon seeing Cameron on top of the smaller boy. "Sorry! I'll leave you two alone." He ran out the door, giggling and no doubt telling the girls what he'd just seen.

"Alex!" Damian called after him. "This isn't what it looks like!"

"Oh, he's harmless," Cameron got up. "But I will find out why you've been acting so strange lately, Damian, so help me I will!"

"So, um, why was Cameron on top of you?" Marissa asked him the next day as they were rehearsing for their next homework challenge.

Damian rolled his eyes. "That Alex sure likes to gossip. Cameron thought I was holding a secret from him so he resorted to threats of tickle torture."

Marissa flinched. "Ooh, that's the worst type of torture."

"Especially for me," Damian laughed. "I'm really ticklish, and Cameron knows it!"

She smiled. "You and Cameron seem really know each other very well."

"Yep," Damian said. "I know everything about him."

_Next Few Days_

"I never," Cameron's teeth were chattering, "ever want to see a Slushee again. Ever."

"Come on, it wasn't _that_ bad," Hannah laughed. "It was actually kind of…fun!"

"Yeah, you're just being a drama king," Damian rolled his eyes. "And that's my job."

"Yeah, New England winters are colder and longer than that," Alex spoke up.

"He's just a big baby," Marissa teased. "Must be that pale, pale skin."

"Seriously," Cameron shivered. "How are you guys not _cold_?"

They all shrugged. "It's just you," Lindsay said. "Even for me, it wasn't that bad."

"You might be in the bottom three for that attitude," Samuel pointed out. "So if I were you, I'd quit complaining right now."

Sure enough, Cameron was in the bottom three with Alex, and much to his surprise, Marissa. She had won the homework challenge that week, so Cameron was positive she would be safe. He sized up his competition; he could maybe beat out Alex, but definitely not Marissa. And yet, he prepped to do his best, and luckily for him, they were all allowed to sing their audition songs, and it was one that Cameron had written himself, so he knew it well and how to sell it. Still, he crossed his fingers as he went to go look at the callback list, hoping he wouldn't fall into the reality show "rule of three", this being his third time in the bottom. He was stunned when he saw that Marissa had been eliminated.

"I am so sorry," he hugged her.

"It's not your fault," she shrugged. "I guess you out-performed me tonight."

"We haven't seen the last of you," he rubbed her back comfortingly.

_Can this get any harder_? Damian thought to himself as he said goodbye to her.

In a word, yes.

"Sexuality," Hannah groaned. "Aw man, I was dreading this!"

"Oh sweet Jesus," Damian's eyes widened in fear. _What if I get paired with Cameron?_

He awkwardly stumbled his way through the "Like a Virgin" homework challenge, finding himself avoiding Cameron at all costs and focusing on Hannah, who he knew he could work easily with. He crossed his fingers when they were all paired up for the main challenge that week, hoping he would be with Cameron, but praying avidly that he wouldn't be. He sighed and rolled his eyes when he found that he had to work with Lindsay.

"What, do you not want to work with me?" She blinked her big blue eyes at him.

"Not really, no," he said bluntly. "You annoy me like a mosquito."

"Well, I never," she huffed and stomped off to the other side of the room.

"Wow," Samuel raised his brows. "Never thought you'd actually tell her what we've all been thinking this whole time."

"She's been pestering me since kindergarten," Damian said. "It was about time."

"And now you have to work with her and be 'sexual' with her," Samuel shook his head, dreadlocks flying behind him. "Tough break, kid."

"I'll just picture someone else in her place and it'll work out," Damian shrugged.

Samuel bit his tongue to keep from laughing; he knew of Damian's blatantly-obvious-to-everyone-but-Cameron crush on the blonde competitor. He said nothing, though, and wandered off to work with Alex on their scenario.

_A few days later_

"Jesus," Damian closed his eyes as he caught sight of Lindsay in her cheerleading uniform for their part of the video. "Tell me this isn't happening."

"Oh just suck it up and work with me," she tossed her hair over her shoulder. Damian shuddered and did so. He attempted to picture her as Cameron, but got kind of skeeved at the thought of Cameron in a cheerleading outfit. He knew he'd have to kiss her in the end, and he did so, though unwillingly. She tasted sweet, like bubble-gum flavored lip gloss. _If I were kissing Cameron_, Damian thought, _he wouldn't taste like this at all_. He sullenly returned to the greenroom where the other contestants were waiting.

"Is that lip gloss?" Alex smirked.

"Oh. Yeah," Damian rubbed it off.

"You kissed? Shut up!" Hannah laughed. Cameron's face fell, his eyes growing dark. _Lindsay kissed him! Wait, why do I care about this so much?_ All of a sudden, he felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. _Lindsay stole his first kiss! That shouldn't have been her!_

"You look like you just got hit by a truck," Alex said to him.

"What's the matter?" Hannah turned to him, worry in her green eyes.

_Right, Hannah. I'm dating Hannah._ "I just…I can't believe she kissed him." He shifted in his chair and glared at Lindsay. "You do know that was his first kiss, right?"

"What? No," Lindsay looked at Damian. "You didn't tell me."

"Thanks a lot, Robert," Damian hissed.

"Robert?" Alex, Samuel, and Lindsay said in unison.

"Long story," Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Was it really your first kiss?" Lindsay frowned. "I'm sorry. You should've told me."

"No thanks to _Robert's_ little outburst, yes, it was, and now you all know." Damian stood up and folded his arms across his chest.

"Stop. Calling. Me. Robert," Cameron got up and stood toe-to-toe with Damian. "You know I haven't gone by that name since first grade, and you didn't even know me then."

"You had to admit on national television that I just had my first kiss with a girl I can't stand? Way to be my best friend," Damian flipped Cameron off and stormed out of the room, leaving three stunned and confused faces sitting on the floor.

"Oh God," Hannah paled. "Oh, no…" She got up and quickly hurried after Damian, worrying greatly for her dear friend. "Damian, wait!"

"How could he?" Damian spat, pacing furiously back and forth. "How _could _he?"

"He was just trying to protect you from getting your feelings hurt," Hannah said softly, touching his arm gently and trying to calm him down.

"Why does he care if I kissed Lindsay? 'It's just acting', he said about his own kiss with her not even two weeks ago! 'It was nothing', he said. So why, when the roles are reversed, does he freak the hell out and go off on her? Shouldn't he have gone off on her for kissing him when she knows damn well that he's in a serious relationship?" Damian was shaking with fury. "Forget it. I'm not telling him how I feel. Not now, not ever."

"I…" Hannah started to say, but was cut off by being called to the set. "We'll talk later," she whispered, rushing off to shoot her scene. It should have been an easy video shoot for the both of them. Hannah gave it her all, but she noticed that Cameron was distracted, not really paying attention to what he was doing and for some reason not looking her in the eyes. She shook it off, focusing on herself and what she was doing. She wasn't about to be in the bottom three, not now, when half would be safe and half would not. She was thankful when she, Samuel, and Lindsay were declared safe, but again worried about Damian and Cameron as they wound up in the bottom three together again. Hannah didn't want Alex to go home, but with Damian in this seemingly fragile state of mind and Cameron suddenly acting distant and out of character, she was concerned that one of them might throw the competition.

"I don't want to be here anymore," Cameron was saying to the judges.

"What? Why? Are you giving up?" Ryan Murphy stared him down.

"I just…" Cameron gripped the microphone stand. "Damian wants this more than I do. He really does. I mean, he has a great career to fall back on, but he _really_ wants this. Acting, it isn't for me. Music is, but not acting, not television. And Hannah," he sighed. "She wants this so badly, too. So does Lindsay, and so do Alex and Samuel. Maybe I should just…let them have their chance." He looked down at his shoe. "Look, I have a feeling that you're going to send Damian home tonight. Please don't. Send me home instead. He deserves this much, much more than I do." He took a deep breath. "When we were growing up," he explained, "it always seemed as if I paid more attention to Hannah than I ever did to him, especially after Hannah and I started dating. Hannah, bless her, paid attention to him enough for the both of us, but it wasn't enough. It was always about me, or about Hannah. And I'm done with that. I want this to be about him, not me."

"So you're sacrificing a recording contract and a guest-starring television role for…Damian," Ryan said slowly, trying to comprehend this.

"Yes," Cameron said definitively. "I'm asking you to please send me home tonight."

"Very well, Cameron," Ryan sighed. "It's a shame. I would've liked to write for you."

"Thank you for understanding," Cameron bowed out and left the stage in tears. He knew full well the consequences of what he'd just done, but after the revelation he'd made yesterday, he knew what he had done was right. Numbly, he shuffled back to the common room area. "I quit," he announced.

"What?" Hannah stood up. "Cam…"

"No," Alex shook his head. "For me and Damian?"

"Why?" Lindsay managed to get out through her shock.

"I can't really explain why," Cameron looked directly at Damian, who had his head in his knees, but looked up at the sound of Cam's voice. "But it was a personal choice."

"I'm so sorry," Damian stood up. "I'm so sorry, Cameron."

"Not your fault," Cameron smiled wanly before packing his bags and leaving the competition forever. Damian ran out into the hall to check the callback list to make sure that what he was hearing was true. He gasped when he saw his name under "Not Called Back", crossed out in red pen with Cameron's name written underneath in Cameron's own handwriting. _He quit for me_.

Damian and Hannah moved through the next week wordlessly. Hannah wouldn't—or rather, couldn't—tell Damian, but Cameron had left a note under her pillow before he had left two days before.

_Hannah-Bear,_

_I'm so sorry to leave you, and Damian. But something inside me changed after I saw that Damian and Lindsay had kissed. I can't explain it, but I just felt something different. I think we should let Damian have his chance in the limelight for once. I feel so guilty for always paying attention to you and not enough to him. I'm letting him have his chance. I'm not saying you should throw the competition for him, too, but…anyway, Hannah, just know that I do love you and I can't wait for you to come home again. Texas misses you, darling. Give Damian some space; don't let him know about this letter. _

_All my love,_

_Cameron_

She'd concealed the note in her bag where she knew Damian couldn't find it. She knew that Cameron was discovering that he had feelings for Damian, too, feelings that had been buried for years and were just now surfacing. She sighed; if she went home this week, she'd head to Texas and break up with Cameron. It was only right, and if Damian won, then the secret would be revealed anyway, and they could finally be together. She attempted to act as if she was in love with Alex for the video that week, but was distracted by the thousands of thoughts that swirled her head. Therefore, she found herself in the bottom three. While at first excited to be singing one of her favorite songs—and that Damian had miraculously avoided the bottom group—she sized up her competition (Lindsay and Samuel), and knew this would be the week she'd get eliminated. While she tried her best to sing the song, she knew immediately that she was about to get out-performed, and she was consequently eliminated.

"Han," Damian hugged her tightly, the first real contact they'd made all week.

"Oh, Damo," she murmured. "I'm so sorry to leave you here alone." She slipped something into his back pocket, which he didn't notice until that night, when he was changing into sweatpants for bed.

_Damian-_

_I'm going back to Texas to take care of things with Cameron. I wish you the best of luck in the rest of the competition and pray that you win this for both of us. I love you, and I'll talk to you soon._

_Your sister in spirit,_

_Hannah._

"Take care of things?" Damian muttered to himself. "What does she mean?"

"Did you say something?" Alex turned to look at him.

"No," Damian folded the note and put it back away. "No, I didn't." He crawled into bed, not wanting to chat with Alex or Samuel, and slept. Whenever he wasn't practicing for an assignment or doing something with the other competitors, he slept. He almost didn't want to go on without Hannah by his side, encouraging him every step of the way. With the shock of all four of them being in the finale out of the way, he buckled down and focused on the task ahead. He wanted to win.

As they were performing their final homework assignment, Ryan Murphy cut them short.

"I think you need a little help," he said, heading to open the door to the room. Lindsay's mouth fell open as the eliminated contestants came running in.

"Hannah!" Damian tackled her as if he hadn't seen her in months.

"We need to talk," she mumbled in his ear.

"What about?" He furrowed his brow in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she smiled sadly. "I just…need to tell you something."

"Later," he nodded. "Where's Cameron?"

"Right here," a voice from behind him said. The brunette whirled around, nearly tripping over Cameron's feet. "Hello," Cameron laughed.

"CAMERON!" Damian yelled, practically knocking him down.

"Easy. I'm right here," Cameron smirked. "Now go out there and kick it, okay?" They were all thrilled to hear that everyone would be in the video that week.

"Okay," Damian went into another room with his girl. "What did you want to tell me, Hannah?"

"I broke up with Cameron," she said.

"What?" Damian nearly fell off his chair. "But…but…but why?"

"Because," Hannah sat down next to him. "He has feelings for someone else, feelings that just came around."

"He didn't cheat on you, did he?" Damian's eyes darkened. "Because if he did, I'll bloody kill him for hurting you."

"No, he did nothing like that," Hannah reassured him. "I think our relationship just ran its course, to be honest. After all, we dated for almost six years."

"But…but he said he was going to propose to you if he won!" Damian blurted out, immediately clapping a hand over his mouth. "Oh, bugger…"

"Wait, what?" Hannah did a double-take. "He was going to _propose_?"

"Yes," Damian mumbled. "Well, if he won, anyway. Otherwise he was gonna do it on your anniversary."

"Oh my God," Hannah slumped in her seat. "I…never mind that right now. He handled it well, at any rate."

"So who's the other girl?" Damian dared to ask. "Is it Lindsay? Please tell me it isn't."

"It's definitely not Lindsay," Hannah laughed. "He said he'll tell you if _you_ win."

"Well then, this conversation is over," Damian said getting up. "I have a last-chance performance to perfect!"

_A few days later_

"Damian, you have also won The Glee Project."

"Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!" Damian began to scream and jump all over the stage. "Oh my God!" He effectively tackled Sam, who was also screaming at his own win. _I have to tell him_, the back of his mind was saying to him. _I have to tell Cameron now_. He waited until later that night at the after-party. "Can I talk to you, please?"

"Yeah of course, anything for you, Damo," Cameron followed him into a corner of the room. "What's up? I still can't believe you won, man! Well, I _can_ believe it, but still!"

"I made myself a promise to tell you something important if, and only if, I won this thing," Damian told him. "Remember how you kept thinking something was wrong with me, but I wouldn't tell you?"

"Of course," Cameron's facial expression changed. "What is it?"

Damian took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "I've been in love with you since about the fifth grade," he admitted at long last. "Hannah's known ever since then, and she's been keeping it a secret for me."

"I…Damian, wow," Cameron whistled. "I must say, I wasn't expecting that."

"Please tell me you love me," Damian reached down for Cameron's hand. "Please…say you love me, too. You've never said it to me, not once."

"I did say it to Hannah an awful lot, didn't I?" Cameron looked guilty. "I'm sorry. And I do love you, Damian."

Damian's heart beat rapidly in his chest. "In what way?"

"Up until about a month ago, my feelings towards you were that of a devoted and loyal older brother," Cameron said. "But then something changed. When I saw that you and Lindsay had kissed, it was like someone had kicked me in the stomach, hard. I didn't know what it meant until I really thought about it." He took Damian's other hand in his own and squeezed it. "I guess I've had other feelings for you, buried way deep inside, because I thought since Hannah and I had been childhood best friends, we were meant to date, we were _supposed_ to date. So I hid anything I might have been feeling for you, and I'm genuinely sorry about that. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course I can," Damian murmured. "But…are you saying that…?"

"Yes, yes, I am," Cameron leaned in and kissed Damian sweetly, lingering for a moment. "There," he pulled back. "That should've been your real first kiss."

"Look!" Lindsay poked Hannah. "Cameron just kissed Damian!"

"Oh, _finally_," Hannah said. "Damian's been waiting for that since he was about ten."

"Please tell me someone got that on camera," Marissa sighed happily. "It's too cute."

"I did," Samuel grinned. "The whole thing."

"They were always meant to be," Hannah murmured, "and so finally they are."

_Damian and Cameron dated for three years before Cameron proposed. Hannah was Damian's "Maid of Honor", and all of the Glee Project cast members, as well as some Glee cast members, were in attendance at the wedding. A few years after they got married, Damian and Cameron adopted a daughter, named Lilly. Hannah was the Godmother. Damian and Cameron were both Godfathers to Hannah's twin sons, Keith and Connor. They were all best friends until the day they died, one day apart from each other, because none of them could live without each other._


End file.
